Additional Online Marketing Tools

Four additional online marketing tools that I think will work for my small business are LinkedIn, Yelp, Google Maps, and Groupon.

My wife is not on LinkedIn, but I definitely need to get her business (and her personally) on. I have an account and have not done a whole lot with it, but I have had a lot of people endorse me for specific skills and I have returned the favor. Although I am not a very active user, I have seen that many people are, and it lends well to business, as it seems to me to be the only social media outlet that is focused on business and employment. Professional services like those my business offers need to be entrusted with reliable, trusted people and you can develop that kind of reputation using a platform like LinkedIn.

Yelp helps to accomplish that same objective. I have come across Yelp often just doing internet searches for places. I have come across businesses offering discounts for positive reviews on Yelp (I’m kind of wary of businesses that practice this). Additionally, I have looked up my business on Yelp and found no activity, good or bad. I recently claimed the business in my wife’s name and added a few photos to the page. I have already made flyers and little desk signs for my wife to post during tax time prompting clients to like her page on Facebook. I plan to add a section with a call to action like, “Did you receive excellent service today? Consider reviewing us on Yelp.” along with a QR code leading to the Yelp page.

Upon searching my business in Google Maps, I discovered that another host (1prosite.com) already owns it. I am in the process of trying to retrieve ownership of the site. I am concerned that someone else has control over the Google+ site behind the page. I haven’t seen anything malicious, but I would obviously want to control the information being distributed on behalf of the company. The good thing is that the company is visible and people can find it. When people search for “immigration” in this area, we are the first listing, but type in “taxes”, and we are nowhere to be found. I would like to be able to control this.

Lastly, Groupon is a great marketing tool that I have used on multiple occasions. Everyone wants to feel like they are getting a deal when making a purchase. The only issue I may have is that our prices are already very reasonable. The client base is primarily low-income Hispanic families and individuals, so we try to keep our prices low. I’m not sure how enticing a deal I could offer that would still be cost effective.

Creating uniformity among these different platforms is key in order to maintain the brand. I am uploading the same pictures to each of them so brand recognition is easy. The LinkedIn and Yelp links can also be added to future publications to correlate with my current marketing strategy. Although I’m not expecting these tools to create overnight success, I’m sure they will have a positive effect on the business.